and I thought the Canadian system was better than ours! Thursday, November 25, 2004, 2:44:00 PM, Paul Stone wrote: PS> As Ursula and Erin have told you, it doesn't cost anything (at the time of PS> your visit) to go to a medical doctor for an examination. If, however, you PS> are a private business owner and lack the fat insurance deals that a lot of PS> union jobs and larger corps have, the rest of healthcare can cost a LOT of PS> money in Ontario. PS> For last few years, as the government claws back money from the health PS> services, increasingly services which used to be 'free' are now costing PS> money. A NOTE from the doctor can run you from 15-50 bucks. A physical -- PS> 100 bucks. Requested blood work? Sometimes there's a charge. In most GP's PS> offices there is a HUGE document on the wall saying what's "NOT covered" by PS> your government "free" health insurance. It grows larger every month. PS> Since the Liberal government took over Ontario's control recently itearly PS> _ONE_ visit to the chiropractor is now 25-30 bucks. You can't see a dentist PS> for 5 minutes for less than 75 and if you want work done, haaaaaaaaa, PS> you're looking at at LEAST a 1000 bucks per tooth. Any kind of specialist PS> treatment is now charged extra. Optometrists used to be covered I think for PS> 1 visit per year, but now it's 1 visit every 2 years. Glasses cost anywhere PS> from 100-300 depending on prescription. And DRUGS, regardless of what you PS> think and hear, ARE expensive if you don't have a drug plan -- which many PS> people don't. They are so expensive that I NEVER buy them. I can't afford PS> 100 dollars for a prescription that makes an annnoying ailment into a PS> mildly annoying ailment, ironically, because the government just took PS> another 600 bucks out my paycheque this year to cover all this amazing PS> service. Must be those gender re-assignment surgeries that we are paying for. PS> If you are dying, the service is great, if you are just sick, mmm. not so PS> much. PS> complaining about high taxes, luckily, rarely sick, PS> paul -- Judy Evans, Cardiff, UK mailto:judithevans001@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html